E3 2015: Microsoft Press Conference Recap

Monday, June 15th, 2015

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Nintendo started E3 big with the World Championships. Bethesda continued with an excellent first showcase. Now it’s Microsoft’s turn. They came out with a fairly strong conference to start last year. Can they do it again this year and try to gain ground on Sony? Let’s find out.

We begin Microsoft’s conference with 343 Industries and the latest look at Halo 5: Guardians. The game seems to feature a new character going after Master Chief in the main story. It will also feature a drop-in-drop-out co-op campaign that is said to be seamless. The game releases on October 27th, 2015.

Next is the world premiere of a new exclusive, Recore. This game comes to us from Keiji Inafune and a team of developers that had experience working on Metroid Prime. The game deals with a female protagonist and her robot companion. Not much else is known at the moment. It will release Spring 2016.

After the reveal, Phil Spencer came on stage and revealed something that PS4 doesn’t have… yet. Xbox One will now be backwards compatible. In addition, you’ll be able to use a number of Xbox One features while playing your Xbox 360 games. In addition, a new controller called the Xbox Elite Wireless controller was announced, coming this fall. The controller promises to have better accuracy than before.

Next up is Todd Howard from Bethesda Studios (which I don’t get since he said he would only demo Fallout 4 once this E3). Anyways, Fallout 4 gets some love with some gameplay being shown. In addition, Fallout 3 will be coming with Fallout 4 on Xbox One. Also, mods created on PC will be available for Xbox One players.

Following that is Peter Moore from Electronic Arts. The focus was on EA Access, an Xbox One exclusive program that allows for early releases for subscribers at slight discounts. Furthermore, you can access games from a vault of games that EA publishers, including Titanfall coming soon and Dragon Age: Inquisition later in the Summer. Xbox One owners can try EA Access for free during E3.

Also revealed during EA’s time was Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2. This is a sequel to the original Garden Warfare third-person shooter and take place in Zomberbia. This will be springing next Spring.

Up next is Forza Motorsport 6, featuring the Ford GT, a legendary winner of several 24 Hours of Le Mans races. The car is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its initial victory at the race. As for Forza Motorsport 6, the game releases on September 16th.

Up next is the world premiere of a new game from Bandai Namco and From Software, Dark Souls III. The trailer was mostly just CG cutscenes as opposed to gameplay, but still looked interesting… to someone who has never played a game in the series. It is expected in Early 2016.

Following this is a new trailer for Ubisoft’s Tom Clancy’s The Division. This is a game that was first revealed back at E3 2013 and is expected to feature a lot of multiplayer. Xbox One players can get an exclusive Beta this December.

Also coming to Xbox One soon is Rainbow Six Siege, coming on October 13th, 2015. This shooter will have a number of interesting elements, like destructable environments. In addition, the game will come with Rainbow Six Vegas and Rainbow Six Vegas 2, packed in for free.

Next is a game coming exclusive to Windows 10 and Xbox One, Gigantic. This is a colorful game that will be free-to-play and have a Beta coming in August.

Following this is a number of indie titles coming to Xbox One. Here’s a quick list of them.

Rise & Shine

The Mean Green’s Plastic Warfare

The Flame in the Flood

Phantasmal: City of Darkness

The Solus Project

Westerado: Double Barreled

Sword Coast Legends

Outward: The Adventurer Life Sim

Goat Simulator: MMore Goatz Edition

Game 4 from The Behemoth

Below

Ark: Survival Evolved

Recruits

SUPERHOT

Some indies were also featured during the conference. Here are the following games that were featured as either an Xbox exclusive or as a game coming first to the system.

Tacoma (First)

Ashen (Exclusive)

Beyond Eyes (First)

Cuphead (Exclusive)

Launching soon…like, today!

A new pilot program will also be launched game Xbox Game Preview. This is Xbox’s answer to Steam’s Early Access program. However, you’ll be given a chance to demo the game first before you commit to buying the game. The program launches today with The Long Dark and Elite: Dangerous. DayZ will also be coming to the program as well.

Speaking of DayZ, the developers behind the game showed off a new game they’re working called Ion. It is a space exploration game that will be coming to Xbox and PC first and will be part of the Xbox Game Preview program.

Up next is Brian Horton from Crystal Dynamics with Rise of the Tomb Raider. This is the exclusive sequel to the Tomb Raider reboot. Gameplay was shown off for the first time today. Rise of the Tomb Raider launches on Xbox One this Holiday season.

Following this is the reveal of Rare Replay. This is a compilation that will feature 30 Rare titles in one title for Rare’s 30th Anniversary. It launches in August.

In addition, a new title was revealed from Rare, Sea of Thieves. It is an adventure game that features colorful graphics, naval combat, and skeletal enemies.

Another Xbox One and Windows 10 exclusive followed with Fable Legends. It will be free-to-play with an Xbox Gold membership. Gamers will also be able to play together, whether on Xbox One or PC.

Xbox then announced that they will be partnering with Valve and Oculus to utilize VR devices. Windows 10 will be used to power this. Microsoft Hololens will also be compatible with Xbox One. And to show it off, Mojang showed off what you can do with the Hololens in Minecraft.

Following the demonstration, we end with Rod Fergusson from The Coalition revealing Gears of War: Ultimate Edition. It is the first Gears of War remastered for the Xbox One. This new remaster will have new content not in the first game. It will also have a one week public beta for the mutliplayer starting today.

Also coming from The Coalition is a new title, Gears of War 4. This is the latest title in the series. It is expected Holiday 2016.

And that is it for Microsoft’s conference. Have you finally been convinced to buy an Xbox One? Did you sleep through this conference? Let us know in the comments.

NOTE: This article will be updated throughout the day as more images come in.

About Jeff Neuenschwander

Jeff has been a supporter of the website and campaign since the beginning. Joining in for E3 2012, he worked his way up the ranks quickly, making it to the Editing Manager post at the beginning of 2013. Jeff has a wide variety of tastes when it comes to gaming and pretty much likes anything that is quirky, although his favorite genres are Action, Platforming, and RPG. Outside of gaming, Jeff is a musician, being trained as a trombonist for Jazz and Classical music, and holds a degree in Sound Recording.